Board of Directors

Jay Ash, Chair

Secretary, Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development

Jay Ash serves as the Secretary of Housing and Economic Development for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Secretary Ash is responsible for directing and executing Governor Charlie Baker’s agenda on housing and community development, job creation, business development, consumer affairs, and business regulation. He previously served as the city manager in his native Chelsea, a position he held from 2000 to 2014. In Chelsea, Secretary Ash’s leadership produced both economic expansion and fiscal stability. He grew the city’s housing stock by over ten percent, expanded its commercial base with two dozen major projects, led all Gateway Cities with a 15% increase in new employment, developed 10 new parks, secured five credit rating increases, and won two All-America City designations for Chelsea. Secretary Ash has led statewide initiatives on health insurance, youth violence, transportation infrastructure and expanded gaming in Massachusetts.

He previously served as co-founder and vice-chair of the Metropolitan Mayors Coalition, as past president of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, as a board member of the public policy think tank MassINC, the staff director to the Massachusetts House Majority Leader, and as an elected trustee of his alma mater, Clark University.

Brian Kavoogian, Vice Chair

Founder and President, Charles River Realty Investors

Brian Kavoogian is the founder and president of Charles River Realty Investors, a private equity real estate investment firm. Charles River is affiliated with National Development, one of metropolitan Boston’s largest real estate operating companies. Charles River and its principals have successfully acquired and/or developed more than 20 million square feet of real estate worth more than $4 billion. Mr. Kavoogian is a past chairman of both of the region’s real estate trade organizations, the Greater Boston Real Estate Board and NAIOP Massachusetts, where he remains on the Board of Directors. He is a trustee of Tufts University and a member of the Board of Advocates of the Tisch College at Tufts University. Mr. Kavoogian also serves as the Vice Chairman of the Greater Boston YMCA, is an overseer of Newton-Wellesley Hospital, a member of the Partners Healthcare System, Inc. Corporation and a director of Heading Home. Mr. Kavoogian received a BA from Tufts University in 1984 and joined the MassDevelopment Board of Directors in November 2015.

James W. Blake

President & CEO, HarborOne Bank

James W. Blake leads Brockton-based HarborOne Bank, the largest cooperative bank in New England with $2.2 billion in assets. The Bank, originally founded as Brockton Credit Union in 1917, has developed under Blake’s leadership from a modest credit union into a vibrant community bank, employing over 380 individuals and quadrupling in assets and holdings. In 2015, the bank expanded into New Hampshire with the acquisition of Merrimack Mortgage Company, Inc. and into Rhode Island with the opening of a commercial lending office in Providence. HarborOne Bank became a public company in 2016. Mr. Blake has set the tone for Bank’s community investment activities during his 22-year tenure as President and CEO, resulting in HarborOne’s community initiatives consistently receiving local, regional and national recognition.

Mr. Blake currently serves as a member of the board of the Connecticut Online Computer Corporation and a board member of BancAlliance, while he previously served on the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston’s Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council and the Commissioner of Bank’s Foreclosure Task Force. Mr. Blake also serves on the Old Colony YMCA’s Downtown Operations Task Force Committee and as Co-Chair of the Signature Healthcare Executive Business Council Committee.

Mr. Blake has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Salem State College. He is also a graduate of the Bank Marketing School held at the University of Colorado and the Graduate School of Banking Program held at Fairfield University. He joined the MassDevelopment Board of Directors in October 2016.

James E. Chisholm

Division President, Waypoint

James E. Chisholm is Division President of Waypoint, a national sales and marketing agency for the food service industry and related supplies. In that role, Mr. Chisholm leads the organization’s non-food effort with client expansion, customer relationships and acquisitions. Jim is known nationally for his pioneering work in the consolidation and redefining of the foodservice industry. Prior to Waypoint, he founded Benchmark Sales, one of the largest food service brokerage companies in the country, and served as the company’s president. Mr. Chisholm has also held executive positions at Inter-Mark Sales, Morris Alper, and Scott Worldwide Foodservice/Hoffmaster.

In addition to his work at Waypoint, Mr. Chisholm has served as Chairman of the Foodservice Sales and Marketing Association, past president of the Lynnfield Athletic Association, and currently co-chairs Providence College’s Black and White premiere fundraising event. A graduate of Boston College, he also is a member of the Boston College hockey mentoring program. Mr. Chisholm joined the MassDevelopment Board of Directors in November 2015.

Karen Grasso Courtney

Founder and Executive Director, Foundation for Fair Contracting of Massachusetts

Karen Grasso Courtney is the Founder and Executive Director of the Foundation for Fair Contracting of Massachusetts, a labor-management trust fund. She is also the President of K. Courtney & Associates, a consulting firm offering government relations services. Previously, she was appointed Assistant Commissioner for the Massachusetts Department of Labor and Industries.

For five years, Ms. Courtney served on the faculty of the McCormack School of Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts-Boston, as part of the Women in Politics and Public Policy Graduate Certificate Program, Ms. Courtney helped aspiring female political leaders to make essential connections with area nonprofit and policy organizations.

Ms. Courtney has a long history of community involvement. In 2011 she received the Salt of the Earth Award from the nonprofit group Massachusetts Community Labor United. In 1996, The Greater Lawrence YWCA named Ms. Courtney "The Outstanding Woman of the Year."

She received a Bachelor's degree from Fitchburg State, a graduate certificate from Boston College and a Master's degree from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Ms. Courtney joined the MassDevelopment Board of Directors in March 2016.

Grace Fey

President, Grace Fey Advisors

Grace Fey, CFA, is president of Grace Fey Advisors. She was a partner at Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC, for 20 years, serving as executive vice president and director of the Boston investment management firm, and now serves on the senior advisory council of Affiliated Managers Group (AMG), the majority owner of Frontier Capital.

Ms. Fey serves as a trustee of the John Hancock Financial Services Funds, on the board of directors of the Fiduciary Trust Company, as a trustee at WGBH and as an honorary trustee at the Museum of Fine Arts. She is also a trustee of the Mabel Louise Riley Foundation and on the board of directors of The Boston Foundation, where she serves as chair of the investment committee. She is the recipient of the David Knapp award for trusteeship from the New England Board of Higher Education and the Leadership Award from the Big Sister Association of Boston. She is a member of the Massachusetts Women’s Forum, the Boston Club and Women Corporate Directors.

Ms. Fey graduated from the University of Maryland with a bachelor’s degree in English and holds an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She joined the MassDevelopment Board of Directors in October 2016.

Rachel Madden

Rachel Madden serves as Undersecretary for the Executive Office for Administration and Finance. As Undersecretary, Ms. Madden provides daily support to Administration and Finance agencies and works directly with the Secretary on current policy initiatives and reforms. She joined the office in January 2015 after serving as the Chief Financial Officer and Director of Administration and Finance for the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) for seven years. She began at the MWRA in 2006 and also served as Budget Director and as Acting Treasurer for a number of years.

She has held several senior management positions within the Commonwealth’s Registry of Motor Vehicles, Executive Office of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Revenue, and also spent the early part of her career at the Executive Office for Administration and Finance.

Ms. Madden holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Rochester. She joined the MassDevelopment Board of Directors in May 2016.

Patricia McGovern

Consultant

Patricia McGovern formerly served as General Counsel and Senior Vice President at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Executive Vice President for External Affairs at CareGroup Healthcare System; a lawyer at Goulston & Storrs, P.C.; and, from 1984 to 1992, chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means.

Ms. McGovern holds a bachelor’s degree and a law degree from Suffolk University. She holds numerous honorary degrees and, after graduation from law school, studied at the Academy of International Law. Ms. McGovern is a founder of the Women’s Bar Association. She was a fellow at the Radcliffe College Public Policy Institute during the 1994-1995 academic year, and in 1992 was a fellow at the Institute of Politics at the Kennedy School at Harvard University. She is a guest lecturer at a number of colleges, universities, law schools and institutes throughout the Northeast. Ms. McGovern joined the MassDevelopment Board of Directors in August 2011.

Juan Carlos Morales

Founder and Managing Director, Surfside Capital Advisors

Juan Carlos Morales is founder and managing director at Surfside Capital Advisors, a strategic finance consulting firm primarily focused on trajectory-changing events. Previously, Mr. Morales served as a banking and asset management executive, where he served as global chief financial officer for TIAA Global Asset Management and State Street's Global Advisors, two of the world's largest investment managers. In that capacity, he led a global team with locations in Boston, London, Hong Kong, and Bangalore through numerous business transformation initiatives including acquisitions, carve outs, and restructurings. He previously served as president and CEO of BNY Mellon Mexico and CFO of BNY Mellon Wealth Management, and began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers' financial services industry practice.

Mr. Morales has served on various boards, including Nuveen Investments, Boston Medical Center, Big Sisters Association, The Partnership Inc., and Wheelock College. He is the co-founder of The Latino Legacy Fund at the Boston Foundation and the Boston Chapter of the Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA). A native of Puerto Rico, Mr. Morales graduated from the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He joined the MassDevelopment Board of Directors in December 2016.

Christopher P. Vincze

Chairman and CEO, TRC Companies, Inc.

Christopher P. Vincze has served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of TRC Companies, Inc. since 2006. Prior to that, Mr. Vincze was the company’s Chief Operating Officer. He is responsible for oversight of the strategic direction of the Company and leads the firm’s Executive Management Team to execute the Company’s vision to deliver value to its customers, shareholders, and employees. Over the past 11 years, Mr. Vincze and the firm’s Executive Management Team have restructured and repositioned TRC as a leading provider of engineering, consulting, and construction management services to the Energy, Environmental, and Infrastructure markets.

Prior to joining TRC, Mr. Vincze served as Managing Director at Marsh, Inc., the $5.5 billion risk and insurance services units of Marsh & McLennan Companies. While at Marsh, he led the firm’s Corporate Environmental Practice and worked closely with other Marsh business units including Construction, Transportation, and Real Estate practices as well as MMC Capital, Kroll Inc., and Mercer. Before joining Marsh, Mr. Vincze was President and COO at ATC Group Services, Inc., a $155 million, 1,700 employee engineering and environmental consulting company based in Woburn.

Outside of TRC, Mr. Vincze serves on the Board of Trustees of Hallmark Health Systems and the New England Council. He is also a member and serves on the National Committee for the American Enterprise Institute.

A graduate of Connecticut College, Mr. Vincze received his Master’s in Public Health from the Boston University School of Medicine.